Structured similarly to Accolade's own Turrican, Universal Soldier is loosely based on the 1992 Carolco Pictures film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. You play the part of Van Damme's character, Luc Devreux, as you fight your way through four worlds, each spanning two to three timed levels: Vietnam, Dam, Desert, and Enemy Headquarters.
Since each world is filled with robotic enemies, you'll need to use your special equipment as a Universal Soldier to combat them: a laser rifle, laser whip, and power line. Your standard weapon is a rifle that changes into a laser whip by holding down a button. Once it charges up, you'll be able to steer the blast 360 degrees to defeat anything nearby, as well as reveal hidden boxes filled with power-ups.
Each power line emits two powerful beams to the right and left of your character, destroying all enemies making contact with them. Besides fighting enemies, Luc Devreux can also collect diamond tokens and power-ups, giving weapons added capabilities and strengths, such as ricochet or triple beam shots. Players will receive additional continues for every 50 diamonds collected, with a maximum of five allowed in reserve at any given time.
Each world concludes with a showdown with a boss character, and players can resume progress by entering the password shown after completing a level. Universal Soldier also offers two difficulty options (normal or hard) which determine the number of lives you start with and amount of damage you'll receive from enemies.Controls: Gamepad/Joystick
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